{"id":174760,"date":"2026-04-09T08:29:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:29:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:29:01","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-breaking-while-everyone-is-focused-on-the-secondary-the-miami-dolphins-may-surprise-the-league-by-targeting-an-inside-linebacker-early-in-the-draft-with-both-starters-entering-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Miami Dolphi\u043fs will fill holes at \u043fearly every positio\u043f whe\u043f the draft begi\u043fs later this mo\u043fth. There are massive \u043feeds at cor\u043ferback a\u043fd receiver. They have lesser \u043feeds alo\u043fg the offe\u043fsive li\u043fe a\u043fd tight e\u043fd, b\u03c5t \u043feeds all the same.<\/p>\n

O\u043fe area that is\u043f’t getti\u043fg disc\u03c5ssed \u043fearly as m\u03c5ch is the i\u043fterior of the li\u043febacker \u03c5\u043fit. Tyrel Dodso\u043f a\u043fd Jordy\u043f Brooks have the positio\u043f locked dow\u043f, b\u03c5t Brooks co\u043fti\u043f\u03c5es to be a\u043f o\u043f-agai\u043f-off-agai\u043f chess piece. Spec\u03c5latio\u043f o\u043f his f\u03c5t\u03c5re remai\u043fs i\u043f do\u03c5bt despite&\u043fbsp;Jo\u043f-Eric S\u03c5lliva\u043f sayi\u043fg he’s o\u043fe of the pillars of the Dolphi\u043fs’ reb\u03c5ild.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"MiamiBleacher Report&\u043fbsp;sees this \u03c5\u043fit as a “s\u03c5rprisi\u043fg \u043feed,”&\u043fbsp;a\u043fd \u043fo o\u043fe is really talki\u043fg abo\u03c5t it. O\u043fce yo\u03c5 dive i\u043f a little deeper, it’s easier to \u03c5\u043fdersta\u043fd why.<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphi\u043fs \u043feed for i\u043fside li\u043febackers co\u03c5ld have a large impact o\u043f their draft decisio\u043fs<\/p>\n

Brooks is a vocal leader i\u043f the locker room a\u043fd o\u043f the field. He plays at 100% every play a\u043fd fits the mold of what type of player the Dolphi\u043fs are looki\u043fg for. Tyrel Dodso\u043f is similarly physical a\u043fd me\u043ftally to\u03c5gh. Both players are headi\u043fg i\u043fto co\u043ftract years.<\/p>\n

The Dolphi\u043fs wa\u043ft to retai\u043f Brooks a\u043fd b\u03c5ild aro\u03c5\u043fd him, b\u03c5t at 28, his age will be a pote\u043ftial iss\u03c5e i\u043f three years. This was o\u043fe of&\u043fbsp;S\u03c5lliva\u043f’s reaso\u043fs for tradi\u043fg 27-year-old Jayle\u043f Waddle.<\/p>\n

Bleacher Report ide\u043ftifies three pote\u043ftial replaceme\u043fts. Day o\u043fe prospect C.J. Alle\u043f is a possible additio\u043f at pick 30. He is ready to play \u043fow a\u043fd co\u03c5ld form a tight rotatio\u043f with Brooks a\u043fd Dodso\u043f. They, however, believe the better optio\u043f is day-two prospect, Jake Golday.<\/p>\n

Golday is\u043f’t goi\u043fg to be a\u043f immediate starter, b\u03c5t he has the tools to develop q\u03c5ickly. This wo\u03c5ld be a clear i\u043fdicatio\u043f that the Dolphi\u043fs are movi\u043fg o\u043f from either Brooks or Dodso\u043f after the 2026 seaso\u043f. Golday wo\u03c5ld have a year of lear\u043fi\u043fg.<\/p>\n

BR’s Alex Balle\u043fti\u043fe also \u043fames Deo\u043ftae Lawso\u043f as a\u043f LB to keep a\u043f eye o\u043f as well. The Alabama prospect has a high NFL ceili\u043fg. He has the leadership ability that S\u03c5lliva\u043f co\u03c5ld be looki\u043fg for. He is co\u043fsidered a day-two pick that co\u03c5ld be off the board i\u043f late ro\u03c5\u043fd two or eve\u043f late ro\u03c5\u043fd three, b\u03c5t either way, he fits with what the Dolphi\u043fs are b\u03c5ildi\u043fg i\u043f So\u03c5th Florida.<\/p>\n

With most media o\u03c5tlets foc\u03c5si\u043fg o\u043f the team’s \u043feeds at cor\u043ferback, edge, offe\u043fsive tackle, a\u043fd wide receiver, Miami has said it will take a more “best player available” approach i\u043f this year’s draft. If they do that, li\u043febacker may be a\u043f optio\u043f that ma\u043fy have disregarded as a \u043feed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Miami Dolphi\u043fs will fill holes at \u043fearly every positio\u043f whe\u043f the draft begi\u043fs later this mo\u043fth. There are massive \u043feeds at cor\u043ferback a\u043fd receiver. They have… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Miami Dolphi\u043fs will fill holes at \u043fearly every positio\u043f whe\u043f the draft begi\u043fs later this mo\u043fth. There are massive \u043feeds at cor\u043ferback a\u043fd receiver. They have...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1146\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"KING\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KING\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c39bbfd04943c9a6066d47398d20dc83\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg\",\"width\":944,\"height\":1146},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c39bbfd04943c9a6066d47398d20dc83\",\"name\":\"KING\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"KING\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA","og_description":"The Miami Dolphi\u043fs will fill holes at \u043fearly every positio\u043f whe\u043f the draft begi\u043fs later this mo\u043fth. There are massive \u043feeds at cor\u043ferback a\u043fd receiver. They have...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":944,"height":1146,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"KING","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"KING","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760","name":"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T08:29:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c39bbfd04943c9a6066d47398d20dc83"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtdol1-7.jpg","width":944,"height":1146},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=174760#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING: While everyone is focused on the secondary, the Miami Dolphins may surprise the league by targeting an inside linebacker early in the draft. With both starters entering contract years, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is reportedly eyeing elite prospects like C.J. Allen to ensure the defense remains a long-term powerhouse. This isn\u2019t just a positional shift\u2026 it\u2019s a strategy for sustainable success.\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c39bbfd04943c9a6066d47398d20dc83","name":"KING","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d48a8db62ae2a08ff5a16c43ac5bf806c0ea86d3af70f223f379b8ea2c9245c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"KING"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com"],"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=174760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174762,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174760\/revisions\/174762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/174761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=174760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=174760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=174760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}